... and then i slept on the couch.

following a relatively new and absolutely despised bedtime routine ... which now involves ...
... wait for it ...
reading bedtime books ... ON THE COUCH.
*gasp* oh the horror!
seriously ... i'm raising drama queens. i swear. they HATE this new routine.

(which only came about because we no longer can all squeeze comfortably onto stella's bed ... and pretty soon, there's gonna be one more ... and this just seemed easier.)

and i cuddled stella into bed with her bedtime cd quietly playing in the background and i rocked cora for just a bit ... which may or may not have involved falling asleep in her rocking chair with her in my quickly disappearing lap.

i awoke to all three cats body slamming themselves against the windowed doors (i'm sure they have an official name ... but my brain is protesting) and the dog growling. which either means that my animals are really good at guarding me ... or the raccoon is visiting again (for the second night in a row).

scaring him away with lights and knocking on the windows ... imagine that ... a nocturnal animal frightened by lights. i retreated into my bed ... i may or may not have been a bit more secure in my knowledge that my animals might protect me from intruders. or at least furry intruders.

i dreamed of a dinner at my gramsy bear's. i was watching an entertainment type show ... when my sister's face appeared on the television screen. apparently ... she had become a well known adult movie star. (i'm sure she's really gonna love me saying that.) and she was using her real name ... which if you know it ... is kinda sad and funny at the same time. i found it really intriguing ... because NO ONE KNEW that she had this secret life. the entertainment show mentioned recent trips to barbados and france. we just thought she was working! how could we be so deceived?? so i did what any responsible older sister might do ... i texted her. and her text came back with a beep.
*i just didn't think you guys needed to know.*
and i texted back ...*but, entertainment tonight knows?*
and her response came back with a beep.

that woke me up.

'cause it wasn't really a dreamy-like beep.
it sounded more real-like.
but didn't involve any of my guard-pets throwing themselves to my rescue. in fact, i think i heard at least 3/4 of them snoring.

this time i forced myself to stay awake ... to try to find the source of the beep.

i may or may not have let my eyes drift closed.
BEEP.
i think it's the smoke alarm.
i remembered once hearing that alarms do that sorta thing when the battery is dying.

so climbed as high as i could to see if i could locate the battery compartment.
no such luck.
called husband. he didn't answer. i may or may not have gotten annoyed that he didn't answer.
tried again ... this time a bit more fearful of the hole that gaped into the ceiling area. who knows what kind of bugs might decide to investigate and land on my head ... *shudder*

called husband again. he answers ... apparently in the middle of some deepish sleep ... lucky man. yep ... probably the battery. just open it up. he says ... like it's easy.
still doesn't open.
he'll take a look at it tomorrow.

i tried to sleep amidst the intermittent beeps. i may or may not have sworn about the fact that i never get to sleep a full night.

i grabbed my pillow ... body pillow and blankets and moved out to the couch.
whereupon immediately laying down ... my body decided that it was hungry.
i gobbled down a granola bar ... and may or may not have drank a sip of milk out of the bottle.

layed down.
and the cat started playing with something on the wood floors. cursing the wood floors and the cat. i may or may not have thrown a pillow in his direction. got up and fed him.

secured myself back under the covers ... and slept. on the couch.
still hearing slight beeping in the background.

and i may or may not have wished for a few more hours sleep ...